7th Day (2014)

Fresh and Exciting

Beautiful, moving film.

Absolutely Brilliant!

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

..... this film is awful. Do not believe all the hype! The other Vishu releases were so bad, people flocked to this extremely loud film with the most ridiculous plot in the history of Malayalam cinema.The supporting actors were the worst part of this film. Never in my life have I come across such a sorry bunch of whining ninnies in a film. They were so awful, I hope none of the actors ever get to work in a film again.Once again, THE 7TH DAY is one of the most far fetched thrillers in the history of Malayalam cinema. I am still recovering after being hit on the head with a loud background score for nearly 2 hours. Despite the ridiculous plot, the film would have been watchable with some subtle direction. But this film would make Ram Gopal Verma commit suicide with an inferiority complex. PRITHVIRAJ does turn in a decent performance.(1/10)

Once again débutantes proved to be good. Shyam Dhar being a new comer did his direction very well. His work is above average for a débutante. But the screenplay is lagging. Cinematography is average.The film is all about friendship, love and a lot of money. The story revolves around a group of friends. As the story starts Prithviraj delivers a monologue saying his thoughts on X'mas and crimes. Later he gets involved in an accident with two youngsters on a bike whose behaviour seems to be odd and suspicious. He offers them help. Here starts the mystery. Prithviraj reveals that he is an IPS officer. From there on everything is thrilling. The plot is full of suspense.As expected Prithviraj is fantastic. He has done his job very well. He investigates the mystery in an extra ordinary manner. And ultimately we are fed with answers to everything. But the script is not flawless. "We could expect what is going to happen eventually". But still the climax is fine. Deserves 7/10

This came up on my radar a couple of weeks previously, and I've been rewarded with some fantastic Malayalam movies this year, so my expectations from this one, esp. reading the social media sound-bites from the main protagonist, where he indicated that having a trailer out for this one might do the suspense element in the movie a dis-service. This works much like 'Vantage Point' or '11:14' did, if you've seen those already. However, it is a piece of original work, though if it had been narrated in a straight- forward manner, there would have been nothing special about it. So, being original, it still doesn't have much meat, IMO.The technical values are all good, though a few musical numbers could've been done without. The cinematography is above-average, as are the production and art design aspects. The editing, as befits a movie with this kind of narrative, ably supports the story-telling. The performances are definitely above-average. The guy who gave a great performance as Nivin Pauly's character's harried dad in '1983' has one scene, quite strong. The leading lady of 'Thegidi' plays a key character in this one too, and her make-up here is not as distracting as it was in that one (but anyone could've played the role she plays). Nivin Pauly's character's mom from 'Ohm Shanthi Oshaana' also has 2-3 scenes, but nothing substantial.The makers leave a lot of red herrings leading to the final denouement, including a couple of holes when you analyze the entire work in greater detail, but the movie doesn't suffer from those as those in genre would.Some critics have been cribbing about the dialoguing that goes on every few sequences, but I felt that they had been purposefully placed, and I was happy that they were, considering everything that they cumulatively lead up to. Nice way to place a mainstream dumbing-down technique to make one's point, and having that fulfill the purpose of pulling wool over the audience's eyes.One more thing on the score - when the movie starts out, it starts strong, very strong. And supported ably by the sound design too. However, after the 20 minute mark, it starts sounding like every other commercial potboiler, and subtlety takes a long, long hike, never to return, ending in cacophonous themes throughout. This is completely the opposite of the approach in another recent release, '1983', which started off bad (from the perspective of score), and settled into something simpler/subtle. That kinda detracted from the overall experience as well.Verdict: Definitely better than your run-of-the-mill mainstream feature, and though you don't need to trek up to the cinema to watch it, it deserves a viewing nonetheless.

2014 has been a disaster for Malayalam films with every single film bombing at the box office, except maybe 3 or 4. Mammootty's Gangster is an example of downright flop.We have been seeing lots of débutante directors coming up lately and 7th Day is no different. But Shyamdhar shines with his work. His direction is appreciative. The cinematography & editing is below average as many scene are repeated to feed the non-linear screenplay. But I liked the screenplay, to be honest and for a mystery thriller like this, it is an apt choice.Starting off with an unnecessary disco song (with some good rap, I should mention), the film talks about a group of friends who get entangled in an underworld racket involving big money. Later, we are to know that things are not at all what they seem to be. Prithviraj pops out with brilliant performance as an ex-cop. As the story moves forward with credible suspense, skeletons start falling out & we are fed with more information as to what, why & how. Certain twists in the plot grow and make the story understandable. Vinay Fortt should be lauded for his style.The story as a whole reminds of Hollywood thriller classics but I am not complaining because although the makers borrow ideas, they don't altogether copy it like the fashion currently is. There are many flaws but for the entertainment it provides, they all nullify. There are many elements which are shown but the underlying point is slightly clichéd. The climax is very fine. At least, the pace will keep you from boredom.BOTTOM LINE: Recommended, for it is really good. I am gonna expect more from Shyamdhar.Can be watched with a typical Indian family? YES